


Ghukliak

by Avorna



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Non-explicit sexual assault reference, pre-stream
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-16
Packaged: 2019-03-31 22:10:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13984362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Avorna/pseuds/Avorna
Summary: Pre-stream. Nott and Caleb are on the road when a band of goblins run into town. Caleb learns more about goblinkind.





	Ghukliak

It’s utter chaos.

The sudden flurry of movement, the screaming, as the tavern falls into a state of panic.

Nott can’t quite see through the windows with her height so she’s not sure what’s happening. Caleb was absorbed in learning a new spell when it struck, and he looks around confused.

“What’s going on?” he grabs an elven lady who’s running past by the arm.

“Let me go,” she says, twisting away. “Goblins are attacking. Let me GO!” she shrieks, pulling herself free from Caleb’s grasp.

Immediately, Caleb’s eyes shoot over to Nott, checking her response. She looks blank. Those bright yellow eyes that are usually so expressive are vacant as she stares straight back at him. Caleb recognises it as shock, her tiny body too overwhelmed to feel the terror just yet.

Nott’s tone is neutral and pragmatic. “We won’t be able to outrun them. If we hide together, my scent should help cover yours and they won’t think anything of it. We can try the cellar.”

Caleb lets Nott grab his arm and pull him down behind the bar, through the doors, searching soundlessly for the trapdoor they both know is there. Caleb spies it first and points it out, not making a sound. They probably don’t have to be so quiet—the deafening screams behind them would cover their tracks.

She pulls open the trapdoor in one smooth movement; she’s much stronger than Caleb, despite the height difference. The two hurry down the stone stairs into the cellar below.

The room is much smaller than they’d have expected for a tavern of this size. With the door shut, Caleb can make out a small window at the top of the wall where some of the moonlight seeps in. Other than that small illumination, the room is pitch black.

“Nott,” his voice is the softest whisper. “I can’t see.” A small hand takes his and leads him further into the room. He can barely make out her moving heavy barrels out of the way, as she pulls him behind. She replaces the barrels to their previous positions and pushes Caleb against the damp stone wall. He can just about see the finger on her lips, gesturing him to stay quiet.

The screams of the fleeing seem to go on for an age, occasionally punctuated by harsh consonants that Caleb assumes must be faint Goblin. His heart pounds but he focuses on steadying his breathing, trying to keep as quiet as possible. That’s when Nott twitches, and now that his eyes have adjusted slightly he can see fear start to creep into his companion’s eyes for the first time.

He now notices the sounds of something walking on the floorboards above. The attacking force is in the tavern. He can’t quite put his finger on how many there are up there; it could be 50, or it could be 2. All he knows is his heart is in his throat and he pulls Nott towards himself, readying to shield her from what might be the end of him.

Before Nott, Caleb had never encountered a goblin. He’d read a great deal about them, but that was the folklore. The horror stories spoke of goblins hordes pillaging and raping townspeople before stealing everything they owned, or leaving them for dead. There are many understandable reasons why Nott’s face is not welcome in most parts of Wildemount.

Nott very infrequently speaks about her life before she left her clan. When she does, she does not speak highly of her own kind. Most of the time though, despite their reputation Caleb finds it hard to believe that goblins are the monsters that people speak of. How could such a creature be capable of such a connection with him as Nott has if that were true? Nott’s reaction, though, tells him what he needs to know. Those are goblins that he should fear, and are every bit as monstrous as people make out. The small body he’s clutching in his hands is made all the more exceptional.

The goblin voices grow closer, and Caleb places his hand over his mouth to muffle his breathing. The sound so painfully close. He hears a creek and light floods into the small cellar.

Caleb’s reaction is to push himself further into the wall and pray to gods he’d never worshipped before. Nott doesn’t. Nott knows the game is up. She slips out of Caleb’s grasp and shucks off her cloak and her mask, ready to show exactly what she is.

A guttural voice echoes as it makes its way down the steps. Knocking a few barrels out the way, yellow eyes meet Caleb’s that are not the caring ones he’s used to. A quick yell, and two other goblins bound down the stairs and are looking at Caleb and his small companion.

These figures are much bulkier than Nott; they look stronger and muscular. Caleb knows all too well how deceptively strong Nott is despite her litheness; gods only know how much stronger and more powerful they are. Although he doesn't know much about goblins, with what he recognises from comparing these creatures to his friend he determines that they are older. He reckons that the one who found them is female, recognising the greater similarities to Nott. The two who were called down are male, older than Nott but not as old as the female. They all look dangerous.

He can’t enchant their way out, with his magic spent from a busy day working on new spells before the attack interrupted him. He can’t fight their way out—even if they were humans he’d have trouble with it. So he settles on the only other thing he knows how to do. His voice cracks as he speaks, “Please, we mean you no harm. What you do in this town is your own business, and we will not try to dissuade you from that. We have very little coin to give, but I am happy to give it. Please leave me and my friend be, we mean you no ill will.”

There is no recognition in their eyes. These goblins do not speak Common. He has no way to communicate with them; he doubts they speak Zemnian, Sylvan, or Celestial either. Horror and fear seep through his body as he realises he has no way out. Nott takes another step forward, her usual posture shunned as she stands tall and proud. Her entire expression changes, as for once her nervousness or joy is replaced with stoic, hideous anger. For the first time since he met her, she looks fully goblin and monstrous, in a way that terrifies him. Not in fear that Nott would hurt him, but something else.

Caleb hears Nott begin to speak Goblin.

***  
From the sound of them when they were in the cellar, she knew the attacking force was not her clan—it’s well out of their reaches here anyway. Whilst she recognised the language they spoke, their cadence and accents sounded distinctly foreign to the Goblin she was used to. She knew that they would understand her, though.

“This one’s mine,” she says, in the strongest voice she can muster. Despite her trying to puff out her chest and sound imposing, her voice is a croak. The older female smiles as she looks at her.

“The young lady has decided she wants a human for herself?” Her tone is patronising.

One of the males chimes up, “She’s young, but I’m sure she’s learnt the fun of using them that way if she has her own little pet.” The two males begin cackling now, and disgust floods Nott at their insinuation.

“I am not like that. He is my friend. He is mine. You leave him for me, and you can have whatever you want of this town.”

The three take a step closer to Nott, trying to make her back down. “You know that we could tear you to shreds and him too if we wanted,” one of the males says coolly. 

Nott insists, “I’m sure I could take out at least one of you, though, on my way out. I think I’d go for your mother first. She’s pregnant, isn’t she?” The three goblins snarl at her as the female at the front takes a step back and fury paints across her features. “You can try to attack us, but I will kill her before you kill me. You will not harm Caleb.”

She notices the wizard’s attention pique at hearing his name amongst the Goblin language. He is the most fearful she’s ever seen him.

The goblin woman ponders for a second the sight of the younger goblin woman in front of her and her helpless human companion behind her. “We’ll leave these ones. There’s plenty more about the town anyway. Wouldn’t want to overstep our boundaries with whatever her clan is—it's not worth the effort.” Her voice snarks, “She’ll be his undoing in the end anyway.”

The three goblins walk back up the stairs muttering to themselves. In Common, Nott cries out, “You’re wrong.”

***

After a few minutes raiding the tavern, the trio leave and Nott returns to her normal posture, sagging against the wall and clutching at Caleb’s coat. As she does, hysterical crying erupts from the small goblin. Any bravery she had summoned to confront the other goblins leaves, as retroactive fear overwhelms her.

“Nott, my friend, it’s okay. We’re safe now. You did so well. We’re okay, we’re going to be okay,” Caleb chants as he strokes Nott’s hair. She wails harder.

Softly, he begins to sing to her and rocking her back and forth. His voice is pitchy and he can’t sing for shit, but he remembers how his parents would sing to him as a child when he had a bad dream. She quietens as the town around them starts to quieten too.

“You know, I don’t know how many times I’m going to have to say this, but thank you so much. You’ve saved my life again, and I don’t know where I would be without you. Thank you, Nott.”

A resolute voice emerges, though muffled by Caleb’s coat as she’s buried her head in it. “I’m never going to hurt you.”

He’s caught off guard. “Of course not. You never hurt me. You save me. What are you talking about?” He plants a small kiss on her forehead, and goes back to rubbing her back.

“I promise that I’m never going to hurt you.”

“Nott, my friend, I believe you.”

Just before dawn, when the chaos has ended but before the light of the sunrise, they steal away onto the road as far as they can go. There’s no point hanging around, especially where everyone will be on such high alert for goblins.

Caleb realises how little he knows about goblins. Of their nature, of their politics, but the one thing he does know is that Nott is all the more miraculous. The goblin girl filled with humanity. Doesn’t fit in with society because of what she is, and not with her own kind because of who she is.

He will protect this miraculous goblin girl just as she protects him, no matter the consequences.


End file.
